Housewarming

Come on in, I have got my home away from home all set up. This week my $34 flatpacked desk arrived from Walmart- I had envisioned myself getting all resourceful and building a desk from a discarded pallet but despite looking, I could find nothing around here that would come close to providing me what I needed to fabricate a desk. And the fact that my only tools are on a pocket size multitool, probably best that I ordered the desk. I was able to borrow a screwdriver from the housing office and got right to the assembly. This is the type of thing that Adam would normally do for me. It would go something like this, "Adam, I'll make you lunch (or put any meal here) if you will put the desk together." He would knock it out and I would present him with some plate of somewhat artfully presented food. Not an option. I thought of my friends, specifically Lisa or Cathy, that would open the box and tackle the project without hesitation. So I channeled their attitudes, and abilities, and opened the box. I spread all the pieces on my bed and picked up the instructions. When my roommate eyed the package of screws, kind of a big package, with six different compartments for the different type and length of screws, she suggested she help me when she get back from taking a shower. Still channeling Lisa and Cathy, I told her thanks but I would give it a try. I got to it and guess what- done before she got back from the shower. Yes, she does take very long showers. But still, I was feeling good and the desk is solid!

I also bought a $9.99 rug from the little exchange; it is cream- never a color I would buy at home but boy do my pink toes look nice against a cream rug. And then I have the ingrediants that feed my soul; most significantly Amelia's old comforter which she was happy to help me pack in one of my "mail forward" boxes. It is only seeing it here that I realize how worn it is. Very faded with a few holes where Oscar scratched- but to me it feels loved rather than old, and I can recall snuggling on it, or under it, reading countless books with Amelia. I also packed a little heart that I picked out at a Saturday morning Market in Germany in 2007. It was a little market, in a nearby town, either late November or early in December. It was not a Christmas market but had a number of vendors set up with gift type booths. I was inspired by a particular artisan's handiwork and ended up choosing two items. One hangs here, and one at home on our back porch. But it is not just the item, it is the memories of that morning and family that make it treasured. It was the first time we had tried fresh German waffles and Noah was completely enamored. This booth was a preschool fundraiser, maybe a euro for a waffle sprinkled with powdered sugar. I can not remember how many times Noah went back to the booth but it was comical by the end. After that I hit the resale shop on base for a german waffle maker and the local market for some german waffle batter- it became a regular weekend family ritual for the rest of our time there. I guess I share this to say that while I am alone, I am comforted by my surroundings and thoughts of home. It may be cliche, but for me, home is where the heart is.

And there are the practical things I like about my room. Adam shipped me a memory foam mattress topper and pillow set- my bed is super cozy. The bed is next to the wall, I often decompress flipping through a magazine- how convienant that I can rip out a page and just magnet it to the wall. No more loose pieces of paper on the nightstand. My view from the bed is the back of my roommate's locker, and it being metal too, a perfect place to hang pictures and cards. It is my "happy wall." I have my locker with half shelves and half hanging space with one big shelf running across the top. Everything is nicely organized in a way that I would struggle to maintain with my personal things at home. More truth to another cliche, less is more. There is actually a window in our CHU but the view from the window is the back of another CHU and the AC units, better closed for now.

I am getting ready to head to work, I took my "half day" yesterday afternoon and this is my standard late day- with almost 24 hours away from the office I feel quite refreshed. I wrote for a bit this morning and then headed to an early lunch, which for me was brunch since I missed breakfast. I slept until 8:40 this morning, that is pretty late for me. Since today is an Embassy workday, breakfast ends at 8:30am. Missed that. No worries though, I enjoyed a quiet morning. I was happy to see that the Buckeyes had such a good game against Miami. I know that my family, and probably most of Ohio, will be in high spirits today. I am actually playing a little football myself, NFL fantasy football that is. Another player was needed so I "suited" up and made some picks for the draft. I did pretty well scoring Peyton Manning as my QB and some emotional picks that I thought would make Noah happy. We will see how I do!

Lots of love,
Krista

p.s. In addition to the CHU pictures, a partial shot of my cubicle after a bountiful mail call- came back from a meeting to find a pile! Thank you!